TIFFIN – On a day when Heidelberg University dedicated a $5.1 million dollar stadium named in honor of famed head coach Paul Hoernemann, the Student Prince football team toppled his greatest rival. Heidelberg upended Muskingum University, 54-21, on a crisp Homecoming afternoon along the banks of Rock Creek.
Hoernemann, a 1938 'Berg grad who coached from 1946-1959, compiled a record of 102-18-4 during his tenure. Six of his losses, though, came at the hands of Ed Sherman's Muskies.
The morning dedication of Hoernemann Stadium was followed by a pre-game ceremony during which the playing surface was renamed Riesen Field. Its namesake, Armin "Pete" Riesen , coached The Berg to its 1972 conference title and Stagg Bowl victory.
THREE STARS
Cameron Vocke and Tony Morris: The pair combined for two blocked punt/touchdown returns in the second quarter. Morris, a freshman, deflected two straight punts by Samuel Green. Vocke caught the first one in the air and picked the second one up off the ground and plunged into the end zone.
Michael Mees: Midway through the second quarter, Mees threw a nine-yard completion to Derek Hug. Those yards pushed Mees ahead of Shane Fulton on Heidelberg's career passing list. Fulton's record, 7,373 yards, was set in 1986. Mees finished with 237 yards and two touchdowns on 13-of-20 passing.
Donteea Dye: The senior speedster from Fairfield racked up 230 all-purpose yards. He had six receptions for 154 yards and two touchdowns. His receptions went along with two kickoff returns for 76 yards.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Heidelberg (4-1, 3-1 OAC) was held to two chip-shot field goals on its first two possessions, 20 and 26-yarders by Stephen Smith.
On the second Muskingum (1-4, 1-3 OAC) drive, Alex Rentz picked off a Griffin Degener pass, but fumbled the ball back to the Muskies on the return. Muskingum took over on the Berg 21, but lost yardage on its next three plays. A delay of game penalty on what would have been a 47-yard field goal attempt forced a Muskie punt.
Heidelberg capitalized with one of their signature drives – 4 plays, 80 yards in 59 seconds. It was capped off by a 54-yard strike from Mees to Dye.
The blocked punts happened at the end of the first two Muskie drives in the second quarter, as they faced 4th-and-13 from their 26 and 4th-and-18 from their 18.
Shellshocked, the Muskies were able to drive into the red zone on their subsequent drive. Cody Dent's 31-yard field goal attempt sailed wide left.
Mees and Dye connected for another touchdown on the ensuing possession. This score, a 24-yard pitch-and-catch, gave the Tricolor a 33-0 halftime lead in front of a crowd of over 3,000.
Vocke opened the scoring in the second half with a five-yard rush, his third of the game.
A Muskingum three-and-out gave the Berg the ball back inside Muskie territory at the 37. It took Cartel Brooks four carries to move the ball 37 yards and into the end zone for his first touchdown of the day.
As the fourth quarter began, Brooks found his way into the end zone again. It was the 59th career touchdown for the Galion Stallion, which set a new Heidelberg record. Walter Livingston scored his 58th touchdown in 1958, playing for Hoernemann.
With Heidelberg's starters on the bench, Muskingum found a bit of success late in the fourth quarter by scoring on two straight possessions and returning an interception for a touchdown.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Heidelberg had not returned a blocked kick for a touchdown since Charlie Peffley ran back a blocked PAT in 2007.
Rentz and Austin Bentz each had interceptions for Heidelberg, becoming the first players with rhyming surnames to pick off passes in the same game in the Mike Hallett era.
Dye has eight touchdowns on the season, including two in each of the last three games.
QUOTES OF NOTE
Head coach Mike Hallett on two blocked punts returned for scores by same two guys: "I've never heard of that in my life, at any level, it was pretty remarkable ... Tony Morris has a knack for coming off of that edge, and felt like we had a good opportunity. The first one was a called block, but the second one he was just going to secure the kick and had an open lane, we were setting up a return, but he got another paw on it and Cam was there both times to scoop it and take care of it.
Tony Morris on blocking the first punt: "Donteea [Dye] got the other man's attention [on the special teams formation], but I was kind of open, jumped up, and got it. When I blocked it I didn't even know I blocked it because it was so far up in the air. Then Cam got it and scored, so it was really exciting."
Cameron Vocke about the play of the special teams: "Special teams was big today ... got us kick-started. It's been big all year, we had some blocked kicks against JCU, we had some good plays against Ohio Northern, it has been a big force for us this year."
Hallett on records by Brooks and Mees "I think we're out of records, they are their's now, so I don't know what else is left for either of those guys to knock off ... They're going to continue to set the bar very high for future players. There's going to be some records that are going to seem unobtainable for a long time. But that's why you have records ... that's why you keep track, it certainly be a motivator for great players and we hope to continue to get those kinds of great players here."
Donteea Dye about the offensive production: "We have to come out strong every time, and I think if we fight hard at the beginning we can finish strong. As a team, we work as one and finish as one, so that's how we rock."
Hallett about Hoernemann Stadium and The Fox Den Alumni Center: "I think it's beyond expectations ... I think it's a great crown jewel for campus. It's certainly going to be used for more than just five football games a year, with all of our other athletic activities. But with the Fox Den, this place can be a hub of activity on a year-round basis ... I think there's a lot of pride with our alumni who maybe didn't get a chance to play on campus to see what their hard work and donations have led to."
UP NEXT
Heidelberg travels to No. 3 Mount Union next Saturday. In 2013, the Purple Raiders won a thriller in Tiffin, 44-34. Game time in Alliance is at 1:30 p.m. To purchase advance tickets, visit the Mount Union website.